Lilies and Cornflowers
by Ayanhart
Summary: Italy tries to leave a present for Germany, for when he comes back from a meeting with his boss. A quick cook and dash, that was all it was going to be. However, when Germany comes home early and finds him in the kitchen, he is shown that the German has a surprise of his own that he has to share. GerIta, HRExChibitalia. Fluff with a very teeny bit of angst.


**Woo! My first (submitted) APH fanfic! I have a ton of unfinished fics that I'm likely never to upload... Then again, I did get so bored in school the other day that I started continuing one... I still have my NaNo one to finish, edit and post too... And that other one...**

**Okay, I still have stacks to do.**

**Anyway, here's an early Xmas (but not christmassy) present fanfic. Prompt was a pairing fic involving flowers. The receiver didn't specify a pairing, so here's what she got!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: DO NOT own Hetalia or the characters, though that this is on a fan website should have told you that anyway...**

* * *

Italy had to be quick. The owner of the house he was in would be home soon and he didn't want to be caught. He wanted to leave his gift and then go. If they wanted to speak to and thank him, then they could come by his house later. They knew where it was.

Just as he was mixing it all together, he heard the front door open. No, this couldn't be happening! The owner wasn't due home for another half hour! He never left meetings with his boss early, unless...

"Seriously, West." A rough, loud voice announced in German. Luckily, Italy had taken the time to learn the languages of his allied (or formerly allied) countries... That, and he'd been brought up in Austria's house, so he spoke decent German anyway. "You take things way to seriously for your own good."

"No, Prussia," A deeper voice replied, the strain evident, even with the muffling through the walls. "I just like to actually do work when I'm supposed to be there."

"Yeah, but you should try being more awesome more often, like..."

"Like the awesome you. Yes, yes. I get it." He heard footsteps coming towards the kitchen and quickly tipped the food into a bowl, diving under the dining table as the door opened. He covered his mouth with his hands as two pairs of legs appeared in his view: one pair wearing smart black shoes and dark-grey suit-pants, the other in dark jeans, the ends of which were tucked into a pair of high tops.

"See? Even you admit I'm awesome!" The jeaned legs moved in a way that suggested the owner was posing. Italy had to keep a hand pressed tightly over his mouth to prevent himself from laughing.

"Hey," The deeper voice said, the smartly dressed person stopping in the centre of the room. "Did you cook before you came to interrupt me?" Oh, so they _finally_ noticed the bowl...

"You mean bail you out?" The rough voice replied. "Nah. Do you really think that's my sort of thing? I normally bug either you, France or Italy until one of you coughs up the goods!" Why did Italy feel annoyed at that? That's it, he decided, next time Prussia comes begging for food, he was setting Romano on him. He bit his finger, trying to hold back the laughter that threatened to escape at the mental image of Romano attacking Prussia with a chopping board. Unfortunately, he obviously didn't do a very good job of it, because his ankle was grabbed and he was dragged backwards from under the table.

He let out a decidedly unmanly squeak as he felt a weight land on his back, trying to twist around and face who it was that had decided that using him as a human trampoline was a good idea.

"Hey, look, West!" Prussia exclaimed, not stopping his bouncing. "We caught ourselves a pet Italian!"

"H-hey!" He protested, trying to squirm out from in between the Prussian's legs that were pressing against his sides. "Get off!"

"Can we keep him? Can we?"

"No, we cannot and..." Germany trailed off, coughing awkwardly. Italy tried to turn and face the German, only to be knocked flat again by Prussia's next bounce. "...You do realise what a compromising position you two are in, right?" He felt his face heat up as the meaning of Germany's words sank in. Okay, so he wasn't a virgin (not like how he'd told Germany when they'd first met, but he'd heard that if you tell someone that it makes them less likely to kill you) but he definitely wasn't on the France level of public... groping? Maybe it was the Frenchman's way of doing things, but there was a time and place for everything. Even _he_ could tell you that!

He was brought back from his thoughts as a pair of leather jacket wearing arms wormed their way around him, pulling his back flush against a firm chest.

"Ah, but Italy doesn't mind..." Prussia cooed, his hot breath brushing unpleasantly against the back of his ear. He turned his head, resuming his efforts to escape and giving the Prussian a face full of his hair while he was at it.

He sighed when the weight was removed from his back, only to squeak again as another arm wrapped around his waist, lifting him and placing him back on his feet. Another chest was pressed against his back, this one much more familiar than the one from before. He turned in the loose grip, tilting his head up to look into a pair of sapphire coloured eyes.

"Better?" The German asked, looking down after glaring at his brother. Italy smiled and nodded in response.

"Ve... Much better now, grazie!" He said, before turning and sticking his tongue out at Prussia, who returned the gesture, before walking out of the room with a dismissive wave. He turned back to the German whose gaze was focused on the bowl of specially made Wurst pasta. It had been quite a genius concoction of his, if he could say so himself. "I hope you like it," The Italian said, bring the blonde's attention back to him. "I made it especially for you!"

"If it tastes as good as it smells," Germany replied, moving away towards the bowl. "Then it must be delicious." Italy felt his heart leap at the compliment, a thing that came few and far between from the blonde. "However..." The tall German opened a cupboard, taking out a small plate and placing it over the top of the bowl before putting the whole thing in the microwave. "There's something that we have to do first." He grabbed the Italian's wrist and led him out of the door, an odd light glinting in his eyes.

This was a side of Germany that Italy rarely saw – his playful side – and he wondered what had happened to coax it out of the normally stoic German. He was led through the hall and into the living room, where Prussia was watching the news on the TV. The Prussian turned towards them, shutting his mouth and stopping whatever it was that he was going to say while staring at the pair as they passed through. Italy just shrugged as he was pulled through an adjoining door, before being taken outside and into the vast grounds that surrounded the secluded property. Germany's sleek, midnight-blue BMW was parked on the drive, not too far from the door, but Germany pulled him in the opposite direction, around the side of the house.

"Uh... Germany...?" He was starting to get nervous. This was definitely not the normal behaviour that he was used to. If it had been the other way around, he – and probably everyone else – wouldn't have been half as surprised. He briefly wondered what it would take to convince them that _Germany_ led him on a chase like this, until he looked down and felt his heart skip a beat. At some point, Germany's grip had moved from his wrist and was now holding his hand.

His _hand_...

"It's not much further," Germany replied, pausing before turning to face the brunette. "Close your eyes." Italy just blinked. "You trust me, don't you?" He opened his mouth, trying to speak but finding the words wouldn't come. Instead, he just nodded, gasping as the German moved behind him, covering his eyes with one large hand. "Then walk, I'll guide you." He felt a hand on his shoulder, ushering him forwards. They kept walking for a few minutes, Germany directing Italy, until they pulled to a stop. The blonde removed his hand and Italy just stared. Stared at the beautiful sight before him.

"I... It's..." He couldn't form a coherent sentence, the words spinning around in his head and tripping over his tongue before they could make it out of his mouth. "Lilies and cornflowers..." Before him was a small field of orange lilies and bluey-purple cornflowers, set out in lines – lilies, cornflowers, lilies, cornflowers... A small, wry smile crept onto his face. "You do know the lily isn't the national flower of Italy?"

"I know. But a lot of people seemed to think the lily was, so I just went with that." Italy chuckled.

"That's cute!" He looked up at the blonde to see him blushing, laughing at his companion's embarrassment. Germany moved to the side, bending down and plucking some of the flowers from the ground.

"Here," The German said, blushing deeper. "For you."

_"Here, for you."_

_He reached out and took the flowers from the boy's hand, setting them in the apron of his skirt. Lilies and cornflowers. Orange and purple. They looked so pretty. Maybe Miss Hungary would make one into a hair clip, like she did with an edelweiss flower for herself._

_"Ve, grazie!" He smiled at the other boy, who just kept blushing._

_"I hope you like them. I picked them, because I thought..." The blonde boy reached out, taking one of the purple cornflowers from the apron and tucking it behind his ear. "That they were really pretty..." He paused, hand hovering mid-air, before shooting back to his side. "Just like you..." His voice was barely above a whisper as he finished, almost inaudible to the person he was standing across from. A shocked look crossed the young brunette's face, before settling to a smile and light blush._

_"Grazie, Holy Rome," The brunette said, toying with the hem of his apron. "I really love them!" He laughed and smiled. "Let me give you something back." The brunette leant forwards, closing the gap between them and pressing his lips against the blonde's..._

"Italy?" Germany jumped as he saw a sad look pass over the Italian's face as two tears fell from his eyes and trailed a path down his cheeks. "Italy, what's wrong?" Was he not supposed to pick the flowers? Was that it? Dammit! And it had been going so well!

"I-It's nothing," The Italian muttered, wiping his eyes. Two more tears replaced the ones he wiped away and he bowed his head, his hair hiding his face as he turned away.

"It's not nothing," Germany argued. "You're crying." He caught the brunette's shoulder and turned him back around, tilting his head up so he could see his face clearly. "Italy?" He wiped the tears away with his thumbs as they fell. "Feliciano?" The use of his human name got a response. His large, honey-coloured eyes blinked up at him as the Italian took a shaky breath.

A sad smile placed itself on Italy's lips as he pulled the German's hands from his face and looked back towards the ground, holding the hands between them.

"Italy? What's wrong?" Germany tried again.

"Just... Just a memory, that's all." The Italian let out a short, bitter laugh that sounded completely foreign coming from his lips. Germany looked down as Italy took the small bouquet from his hands, holding it between his own, up near his chest. He looked up, his eyes still watery. "Grazie, Germany. I really love them!" He could hear the forced joy in his voice.

"Italy..."

"Let me give you something back." Italy stepped forwards, closing the gap between them, and standing on his tiptoes so he could reach. Germany felt a hand on his cheek, pulling him closer as Italy pressed their lips together. It was a quick, chaste kiss, but as Italy pulled away, it wasn't the nation he'd given the bouquet too that he saw, but a young girl.

_"Now I've given you a present too!"_

But after barely a second the hallucination – because that was all it could have been, right? – faded and Italy was standing there again, pouting. At least he'd stopped crying...

"Not fair!" Italy moaned. "You're too tall!"

Germany smiled, the hallucination already forgotten. "Let me help, then." He wrapped an arm around the brunette's waist, dipping him slightly as he leant in, capturing Italy's lips in another, this time deeper kiss. He felt the Italian wrap his arms around his neck and press back up, a small moan sounding from the brunette.

Eventually, they had to break for air and Germany took the moment to take it in a new direction. "Let's take this inside, shall we?" Italy smiled and nodded, stealing another quick kiss. "I didn't think you were as innocent as you first said you were," The German teased.

"Hey!"Italy playfully hit his arm, before leaning in, his lips hovering just below his ear. "They don't say Italians are good lovers for no reason, you know?" He purred, kissing Germany again, before the blonde pulled away and led him inside.

* * *

"Did you get the photos?" Prussia asked the man crouched behind the bushes next to him.

"Oui, but there is more twig in my hair than hair." As if to emphasise his point, he pulled a small stick from the blonde locks, pouting as he saw strands clinging to it.

Prussia just rolled his eyes. "Stop moaning. As long as we got the photos, it's all okay."

"Oh, we got them, alright. There are some very nice ones actually..." France pulled up a photo of when Germany dipped Italy, causing Prussia to laugh.

"I never knew West had it in him to be so romantic!" He exclaimed, standing. "This should make the next meeting very interesting. Shame I can't be there..."

"Oh, I'm sure well sneak you in somehow." They both shared an evil glance. "Let's show Spain..."

* * *

**I couldn't believe it as, when I was writing that last bit, Mein Gott! Started playing. I practically had a fit! OwO**

**Why those flowers? Well, the cornflower is the national flower of Germany, and, though there's no official national flower of Italy, as it says in the text a lot of people believe that it is the Lily, so I just went with the majority vote! The edelweiss is the national flower of Austria, so you can guess why Hungary was wearing one in her hair.**

**EDIT: Corrected most of the spelling mistakes. *facepalm* If you see any spelling/grammar/anything else wrong then just tell me.**

**Anyway, review? It's you just need to type in that huge box below, and if you're on your phone, there's a little button below here that says review. Click it!**

**Please?**


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